“I think spelling is overrated.”
I almost choked on my potato salad after one of my relatives uttered this statement during a game of Scrabble at a recent family event. My wife started laughing as I tried to fight down the food and sort through the myriad of indignant responses fighting for the top spot in my head.
“Aren’t you in law school?”
“Well, that explains your Facebook posts.”
“Yes, because any time you can quickly make yourself look like an idiot in front of co-workers and clients, you’ve got to do it.”
I think I settled on saying something more moderate, but you get the point. Spelling and grammar are two of the most underrated values in American professional life. A lot of very smart people can’t spot a comma splice or tell you the difference between “your” and “you’re.” Grammar is actually one of the ways PR professionals distinguish ourselves and offer value to clients.
If you are a PR pro, spelling and grammar are two of the most basic, fundamental skills sets you need and are absolutely essential to the job. No one would argue with this, but in the day-to-day grind, it’s tough staying on top of every preposition and proper noun in every pitch, post and talking point.
Here are a few tips to keep your sentences from fragmenting and your subjects and verbs from disagreeing:
- Edit Everything: With the variety of outlets PR people produce content for, it’s important to edit everything. That means blog posts, Facebook updates, tweets and even important emails should all get a proofread. Obviously, there tends to more grammar leeway when it comes to crafting a tweet than a press release, but consistent misspellings on a Facebook page or Twitter feed are an easy way to lose credibility for a client.
- The More Eyes, The Merrier: We’ve got a rule at Cookerly: nothing goes live without at least one other person giving it a look. No journalist would run an article without an editor. Publicists should do likewise.
- Print It Out: There’s something about printing out a document and reading it line by line that let’s you catch things you previously missed. Even with content that’s going straight to a website, printing it out and proofreading is a great way to eliminate mistakes.
Good grammar and spelling are a constant battle, but stick to those tips and you’ll make Strunk & White proud. As my relative found out, you’ll also win a lot more Scrabble games.
Plus, it will help you avoid mistakes like these:
Not sure if they’re insulting the kids’ mental or physical abilities, but either way a comma could have helped.
Is Michael Vick applying for this job?
Primary education has failed this person, so maybe they deserve money for higher education.
Whether you are writing a press release or a garage sale sign, never forget the importance of good grammar. As Lynne Truss, the author of Eats, Shoots and Leaves, once said, “Proper punctuation is both the sign and the cause of clear thinking.”
As design director at Cookerly, Tim serves as the creative lead in the development of branding campaigns, print collateral and digital media for clients across a broad range of industries, including consumer, professional services, healthcare and technology.
As a senior vice president at Cookerly, Mike Rieman is a strategic communications leader specializing in media relations and reputation management. With a proven track record of securing high-profile placements in top-tier outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN and USA Today, he excels at crafting compelling narratives that resonate across print, broadcast and digital platforms.
Mike Touhill is vice president at Cookerly Public Relations, where he helps lead traditional, social and digital media programs for B2B and B2C clients in packaging, telecommunications and technology, among other industries. As a communication leader, he develops and executes public relations strategy, provides proactive and reactive counsel to C-level executives and secures earned media coverage for client initiatives and product.
Andrew Agan is a vice president at Cookerly Public Relations, overseeing the agency’s internship program and leading media relations, content strategy and social media initiatives. He provides counsel and executes campaigns for clients across various sectors, including finance, healthcare, hospitality, technology, automotive and many others. Andrew excels at crafting compelling stories and building media relationships, resulting in clients being featured in notable outlets such as CNBC, Associated Press, Business Insider, Fox Business, HBO, Inc. Magazine, Sirius XM, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, among others.
As vice president of Cookerly, Sheryl Sellaway uses her extensive corporate communications background to lead consumer PR efforts, deliver strategy for marketing programs and share expertise about community initiatives.
One thing to remember: Spell Check is not your friend.
One of my college professors used to always repeat that whenever we had an assignment due, because so many fellow students considered Spell Check the end-all, be-all for editing and proof reading. Spell Check is a computer and doesn’t *think* like humans do.
It also doesn’t seem to think anything is wrong with: “Hey, look over their at the cat.”
Case in point: Proofreading is one word, not two. Irony anyone?